Ringgold to purchase property

Ringgold School Board member Mariann Bulko listens to a presentation on employee benefits shortly after being voted board president Tuesday. - Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
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NEW EAGLE – Ringgold School Board on Tuesday approved the purchase of 28 acres of property next to the district’s high school in Carroll Township as it seeks professional advice on whether or not to use the land for a new middle school.

The board voted 7-2 to pay the estate of Rich and Nancy Gearing $150,000 for the land that wraps around the east and north sides of the high school, bordering Gearing Road. Directors Larry Mauro and Robert Smith cast the no votes.

In a separate resolution, the board agreed to seek professional advice on a solution to creating a middle school by either constructing a new building or rehabilitating existing structures.

A different majority on the board had voted last December to reopen closed elementary schools in Donora and Monongahela as middle schools, a move that resulted in many complaints about the plan from taxpayers in Union and Nottingham townships. It was set aside when newly appointed director Maureen Ott took her seat on the board in October.

However, the board Tuesday directed the administration to develop a comprehensive facilities plans on whether to build or renovate, based on professional opinions, and possibly have it ready for a vote in January.

“We need to resolve this issue for once and for all,” Director William C. Stein Jr. said.

In other business Tuesday, the board reorganized and unanimously named Director Mariann Bulko president and Stein, first vice president. Directors also retained Timothy R. Berggren as solicitor, giving him a $10 raise, increasing his rate to $100 per hour.

Scott Beveridge is a North Charleroi native who has lived most of his life in nearby Rostraver Township. He is a general assignments reporter focusing on investigative journalism and writing stories about the mid-Mon Valley. He has a bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master's from Duquesne University. Scott spent three weeks in Vietnam in 2004 as a foreign correspondent under an International Center for Journalists fellowship.